BAY CITY, MI — A federal grand jury has indicted three Bay City men on felony charges in connection with the alleged mishandling of asbestos at a building used by the Bay City Academy charter school.

Prosecutors charge that two of the men, Roy C. Bradley Sr. and Gerald A. Essex, worked together and with others to convert a former church into Bay City Academy,
400 N. Madison Ave. in Bay City. In the process, prosecutors contend the pair "knowingly failed
to remove and cause the removal of all regulated asbestos-containing
material from that facility in accordance with the National Emission
Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants."

Bradley on Thursday, Aug. 29, appeared before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Charles E. Binder for arraignment on four counts of illegally distributing and handling asbestos, a five-year felony. Binder also arraigned Rodolfo Rodriguez as a codefendant on single counts of tampering with witnesses, victims or informants, a 20-year felony, and making false declarations to a grand jury, a five-year felony.

Though indicted, Essex has yet to be arraigned.

Binder set Bradley's bond at $100,000 and Essex and Rodriguez's at $50,000.

Prosecutors allege Bradley and Essex broke the law during renovations at the Madison Avenue building, a former church, from Aug. 18, 2010, through Sept. 2, 2011.

Rodriguez, a carpenter who also worked on the renovations, testified before a grand jury on Jan. 23, 2013. Prosecutors allege he deliberately made false statements regarding the amount of asbestos-containing material that had been removed from the church and gave misleading statements as to the identities of those doing the removal.

Bay City Academy is entering its third year and was founded by optometrist and entrepreneur Steve Ingersoll. The academy is a charter school for students from kindergarten through ninth grade and has three campuses in Bay City, one located at 1005 Ninth St. having just opened.

Since its inception, the academy has grown from 160 students to 470. The academy is chartered through Lake Superior State University.

Ingersoll said Friday, Aug. 30, he was perplexed by the indictments.

"It’s a surprise in that we’ve had the usual regulatory inspections and whatnot related to all aspects of environmental issues from the start of construction, through construction and after construction and each year thereafter," he said. "There’s never been a test that showed any sort of problem. Environmentally, the building is fine and always has been."

Bradley owns Lasting Impressions, a contracting business that renovated several of Ingersoll's properties throughout Bay City.

Ingersoll said that Bradley hired an abatement company to remove any potentially harmful materials prior to renovations. He did not recall the name of the abatement company.

"The allegation is that apparently some of his workers encountered asbestos, but that doesn't seem right because it should have all been removed by the time the guys got on the site," Ingersoll said.

In a press release related to the charges, prosecutors do not outline how they believe asbestos was mishandled. However, they said the case serves as a warning to any contractor.

"Illegal handling of asbestos can contaminate the air and harm our quality of life," said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. "We hope that cases like this one will deter these environmental crimes."

Randall Ashe, special agent in charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division in Michigan, said there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.

"The illegal and unsafe disposal of asbestos endangers human health and can seriously harm the environment," he said. "This case should service notice that EPA and its partner agencies will prosecute anyone who allegedly 'cuts corners' by avoiding the costs of handling or disposing of asbestos properly."

The case was investigated by special agents of the EPA and the IRS. The trio's next court date is pending.

Ingersoll said the Madison Avenue building is entirely safe for students and staff.

“Our plan to put these old buildings back in service, and it’s a shame to have this kind of controversy,” Ingersoll said. “I just don’t want to see the school damaged by any of this.”